International Journal of Scientific and Management Research

Fabrication of Thermoelectric Module from Efficient Earth Abundant Thermoelectric Materials

Md. Ataur Rahman
Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Pundra University of Science & Technology, Bangladesh
DOI – http://doi.org/10.37502/IJSMR.2022.5701

Abstract

To develop a power generation technology, we proposed low-cost and nontoxic earth-abundant thermoelectric materials consisting of n-type and p-type iron oxides. For high temperature applications of power generation, thermoelectric materials consisting of oxide assure better thermoelectric properties. In this research work, thermoelectric module has been fabricated with three pairs of p-type and n-type thermoelectric materials. In this context, we used Hematite (α-Fe₂O₃) as thermoelectric material which is naturally n-type. By doping Zn, α-Fe₂O₃ turned into p-type. Using spin coating method, n-type α-Fe₂O₃ and p-type Zn doped α-Fe₂O₃ (Zn:α-Fe₂O₃) have been synthesized. For the p-type and n-type legs of the thermoelectric module, the dense bulk samples of α-Fe₂O₃ have been produced by cold isostatic pressing at 450 MPa for 15 min. Six-leg thermoelectric module consisting of three pairs of n-type α-Fe₂O₃ and p-type Zn:α-Fe₂O₃ bulks of 3 × 5 mm² cross-section and heights of 10.5 mm were fabricated. At an operating temperature of 893 K with a temperature difference of 471 K, an open circuit voltage of 744 mV was generated.

Keywords: Thermoelectric Module, Hematite, Spin Coating Method, Open Circuit Voltage

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